Robert Snodgrass has a shot on goal. Picture: Paul Chesterton / Focus Images

The winger was named City’s player of the month – and not for the first time – to take January’s gong, as well as earning the sponsor’s champagne for a man of the match effort against Fulham. But he couldn’t hide his frustration at City failing to end their winless Premier League run, which has now extended to nine games.

“There’s a bit of frustration there; we’re at home and want to try to win the game and I don’t think the first half we did well enough and pressed as we would have liked to, especially when we did against Tottenham here,” said Snodgrass.

“It’s been a tough old couple of weeks for us and we haven’t been picking up the points we would have wanted to but that’s football and we have got to keep going, because nobody will give us the points. So we need to start putting the ball in the back of the net and then hopefully try to pick up three points.

“It is another clean sheet and that is the solidness – you keep on picking up points and sometimes picking up that point means climbing up the table and that can work out a good thing. Plus you don’t get beat, and that is the most important thing the manager stressed to us.

“But as a footballer you want to try to win every game, you want to try and create chances, and you want to try to score goals – and it didn’t happen here.”

Snodgrass’ effort certainly could not be questioned. The winger was the one who drove City forward when they needed and looked most likely to open up Fulham – even if it meant doing it single-handed, as looked like being the case at one point in the second half.

“Yes, I tried to do as well as I could really and tried to get at people, but there was nobody in front of me and I had to keep going,” he added.

“There were a lot of bodies in front of me and nobody I could pass to, so I thought it was a free-kick but sometimes you get those and sometimes you don’t. You need to get players forward if you’re going to try to win the game.”

Fulham seemed happy with a point for most of the afternoon, inspired by Dimitar Berbatov’s pedestrian style of coordinating the visitors’ attacks.

It ensured the Londoners enjoyed their fair share of possession, as well as at times taking the tempo out of the match.

However, for Snodgrass it was the Canaries whose endeavour should have earned them all three points on offer.

“They do keep the ball well but we were pushing and pushing, and there was only one team I think going to win the game,” he said. “They had a few corners and there was a wee scramble in the box, but we were the team that was going to try to go on and win it, and we tried but it obviously wasn’t meant to be.”

From trying to arrest their run of defeats over the festive period, Chris Hughton’s side have returned to their hard-to-beat ways. And Snodgrass feels it is simplistic to assume the Canaries have lost some of their attacking potency as a result.

“I wouldn’t really put it down to us sacrificing things going forward to be solid,” he said.

“Last week against QPR we put balls into the box. As a winger, sometimes you are judged by putting balls into the box and myself last week I maybe put in 16 crosses, which is a good thing.

“You have got to try to believe that sometimes these chances will go in and you’ll have a day like Swansea, where we hit four. We have a good side and we will keep believing we have got the players that can score the goals, and it’s a long old season so we have got to keep our heads up.”

That aim should be made easier with City headed to Abu Dhabi for four days of warm weather training, ahead of a free weekend following their FA Cup exit to non-league Luton Town last month.

“You want to be playing week in, week out,” Snodgrass added. “A weekend free and getting away can be a good thing or a bad thing; we will just have to wait and see but I’m looking forward to a break.”

14 comments

This reads as if Robert is trying to get a message or two through to his Guvnors.

'you don’t get beat, and that is the most important thing the manager stressed to us.'. That kinda says it all. The reason we play 1 up front is so that we can get the other 10 behind the ball. Villa were drawing 0-0 today with 20 minutes to go and then threw on another striker and ended up winning 2-1. We dont throw our extra striker on until the last 3 minutes so what good is that?

Trevor, I would agree. I was suggesting that one of them should give way for Fox. Then came the Luton game. Now I'm not so sure, neither Fox nor Howson gave me any cause for confidence against a non league team, how would they fare in the PL week in week out?

Lambert put on Bent as an extra forward for a midfielder at 63 minutes and a new winger on 64 minutes. The outcome - two goals on 74 and 78 minutes. They conceded a late one but hey, who cares and who got three points today? For us yesterday, Jackson came on at 76 minutes and Kamara 86 minutes. Maybe Trollope should Google 'Substitutions' on his iPad!!

Dont feel too bad Snods, when you are only playing one up front at home to a team with a dreadfull away record there is a limit to what you can do. Have a chat with the gaffer and see if you can convince him that to score goals you need someone in the opposition box to pass to !

Pity we can`t hybridise Tettey with Fox, Doc. Snods is a feisty individual; as LYBirdie suggested, maybe good captain material? Leads by example. And forthright enough to say things that the manager NEEDS to hear, rather than the usual platter of platitudes. He`ll probably be dropped now!

I maintain that City's problems start with the engine room ie Tettey and Johnson.While they defend and win the ball well they dont create anything.Far too much of their game is sideways movement of the ball instead of forward movement which in turn would mean the rest of midfield could support the lone forward more rather than the need to keep coming back to get the ball .